Meet the Australian GT's latest beast

The Australian GT field grows by one Bavarian for this weekend's inaugural enduro

You don't have to go too far these days to find people who aren't entirely happy with the state of the V8 Supercars Championship — now known as the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Their arguments are typically the same; either complaints about the cars all being the same under their glossy skins, or comments about the racing being sterile, or — if they're based in Australia — rants about them favouring pay television.

Naturally, the interest in the Australian GT Championship has subsequently grown. As a lover of both, I have feet in both camps. But when it comes purely down to the machines, I have to throw my support behind the GT class.

Photo / Dewi Jones, MARC Cars Australia

The GT3-spec cars all have their own mood, their own style, their own unique and lovable growl. The Ferraris are a clean, sharp noise that pierces the eardrums, while the Camaros and AMGs sound like entities from the deep depths of hell. 

The latest BMW M6 GT3 is one of the more retrained-sounding cars on the list, but that doesn't mean it's not still a savage race car. Under the bonnet is a turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, from which BMW have extracted around 585hp. In a package that weighs less than 1,300 kilograms, and is layered with oodles of aero, that's more than enough.

Released last year as a replacement for the Z4 GT3, one soon joined the Australian GT Championship — in the hands of ex-pat New Zealander Steve Richards, and Max Twigg. The pair sit 24th in the standings, with teething issues holding them back for the moment. More luck could well fall towards the second M6 GT3 to join the series; this one in the hands of former Dunlop Development Series and Erebus Motorsport GT driver Morgan Haber, and former DTM champion Bruno Spengler.

Photo / Dewi Jones, MARC Cars Australia

Their M6, finished in 'I'll beat you up punk' red, was recently given a shakedown at Queensland Raceway by factory BMW driver Alexander Sims, with his appraisal and footage of the car's circulations above. The car will be run by MARC Cars' new GT division. Those familiar with the sport may recognize the name as the group who — with Pace Innovations — created the V8-powered Ford Focus and Mazda 3 racers that dot the globe's endurance landscape.

Haber and Spengler are a pair of very capable drivers, so the M6 GT3s chances at this weekend's Phillip Island event hinge upon whether the car can perform. It'll be very interesting to see where in the order they fall, and whether they can pip the Richards/Twigg M6 straight out of the box.